Bullpen dooms Phillies to fifth straight loss

Philadelphia Phillies' Ben Revere, left, scores from third on a sacrifice fly by Domonic Brown as the throw to Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer takes a bounce in front of him in the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, June 12, 2013 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

MINNEAPOLIS — The fifth-string set-up reliever got the sign from the fourth-string catcher, missing his spot by two feet.

And that, in a sentence, pretty much tells the tale of the 2013 Phillies.

Justin DeFratus, trying to do in the eighth inning what Mike Adams, Antonio Bastardo, Phillippe Aumont and Jeremy Horst have been either physically or professionally incapable of doing – get the ball to closer Jonathan Papelbon – entered with two on, no outs and runners at first and third in a game Bastardo already had botched.

After getting one out, he uncorked a wild pitch that, in truth, Stephen Lerud should have handled. However, the man behind the plate because Carlos Ruiz and Erik Kratz are hurt didn’t stop it, so Clete Thomas sped home from third and the Twins escaped with a 4-3 win at Target Field Wednesday night.

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The irony came after the wild pitch, when DeFratus snagged a line drive off Chris Parmelee’s bat and turned it into an inning-ending double play.

Both parties raised their hand in culpability for the wild pitch.

“I pulled a sinker,” DeFratus said. “It was supposed to be low and away and it was down and in. He had no chance to catch it. It was completely on me.”

“It’s a tough spot to be in,” Lerud said, “but that’s a play that needs to be made. He’s trying to make a pitch and he yanked it, and I have to be ready for that still. It’s a tough game right there.”

Although DeFratus threw the pitch that let the decider cross, it is Bastardo who has the very special knack of setting the place on fire in the eighth innings of games.

After giving up back-to-back doubles that tied the game, then a bunt single to open the eighth, Bastardo has allowed 10 of the 20 batters he has faced in that crucial inning to reach base. It is making the scourge that is the Phils’ bullpen all the worse.

The Phillies continue to struggle offensively. They got two runs in the first inning, as Ben Revere and Jimmy Rollins got one-out singles off Mike Pelfrey, then after a Ryan Howard walk, Dom Brown lofted a sacrifice fly and Delmon Young delivered an RBI single to give Tyler Cloyd an early jump.

Cloyd was passable, but it took a lot of work for him to get through five innings. He handed a 3-1 lead to the bullpen, but they would need to get 12 outs.

It hasn’t been the Phillies’ strong suit. And it wasn’t on this night, either.

“It’s always tough when you’re in one-run games like that,” Lerud said. “It’s high-pressure situations for guys. We’d like to put up more runs to make it a little easier for them, but we have to battle through it and make some pitches.”

“We all need to be ready at any given time,” DeFratus said. “Even if we’re called on in the eighth or ninth, we’re in the big leagues and we better be able to get it done. And if we can’t, you know what? Shame on us.”

NOTES: After the game the Phillies sent infielder Cesar Hernandez back to Triple-A and said a corresponding move would be made Thursday. Assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said he did not know if the player coming up would be a position player or a pitcher … Catcher Erik Kratz had surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee, suffered in Saturday’s loss to the Brewers. The timeframe given by the Phillies was 6-to-8 weeks for recovery, although it would be stunning to see a 33-year-old catcher make that speedy of a return from such an injury … John Lannan (15-day disabled list, knee) pitched very well in a win for Double-A Reading in a rehab start, needing just 85 pitches to go seven innings. The Phillies have decisions to make, with Lannan ready to return and Carlos Zambrano scheduled to make a Triple-A start tonight at Lehigh Valley.